The Darul Uloom Birmingham (Arabic: دارالعلوم الاسلامية العربية برمنجهام - Urdu: دارالعلوم برمنگهم) is an Islamic school located in the heart of Birmingham City UK. The Madrasah was established in 1985 and says its purpose is to provide education that will produce Ulama (Islamic Scholars) and Huffaz of the Qur’an who can become exemplary representatives of Islam, and serve both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities. It offers a full national curriculum covering secular subjects as well as being a full-time madrassa. The school is run by "Jami Masjid and Islamic Centre Birmingham".
| Type | Islamic School |
|---|---|
| Established | 1984 |
| Principal | Dr Abul Kalam Azad |
| Students | Approx. 120 |
| Location | , |
| Campus | Birmingham |
| Website | http://www.darululoom.org.uk/ |
Darul Uloom
Darul Uloom Al-Islamiah Birmingham is a specialized Islamic Madrasah, School & College, which says it provides a balance of traditional Islamic education and National Curriculum subjects. It states that its purpose is to educate students with both a firm understanding of the Islamic sciences and a strong academic knowledge of National Curriculum subjects, a combination that will provide students with a wide range of possibilities when in pursuit of further education.
2017 Inspection
The school was inspected in May 2011, following a Channel 4 documentary Dispatches filming teaching sessions within the school. Ofsted found that it was "good" with regards to the behaviour of pupils, "satisfactory" with regards to how well the curriculum and other activities met the range of needs and interests of pupils and quality of provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, but "inadequate" in overall quality of education, how effective teaching and assessment were in meeting of pupils’ needs, how well pupils made progress in their learning, and the overall welfare, health and safety of pupils.[1]
The school has since come under new management and the newly appointed head teacher - Abdul Jalil Shaikh - has been commended by Ofsted for his swift turn around of the situations at the school. The 2017 inspection rated the school's overall effectiveness as "good", up from a prior "inadequate" rating the school was plastered with previously. Leaders now ensure that the school meets the independent school standards as set out by the "Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014".[2]
The school has taken many steps in providing adequate safeguards for their students and offering teachers and staff a great deal of training in order to maintain and afford high levels of protection to their pupils.
Controversies
2011
The school was inspected in May 2011, following a Channel 4 documentary Dispatches filming teaching sessions within the school. Ofsted found that it was "good" with regards to the behaviour of pupils, "satisfactory" with regards to how well the curriculum and other activities met the range of needs and interests of pupils and quality of provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, but "inadequate" in overall quality of education, how effective teaching and assessment were in meeting of pupils’ needs, how well pupils made progress in their learning, and the overall welfare, health and safety of pupils.[1]
The school released an official statement about the programme on its website, stating that it had been grossly misrepresented and that comments had been taken out of context.[3][4] Local MP John Hemming made comments supporting the school.[5][6] The school said it was targeted by hate calls following the broadcast.[7]
The DfE ruled that the Dispatches programme found a "substantial amount of evidence" of intolerance and contempt for other cultures, religions and mainstream society and "a culture of intolerance where adherents to other faiths are despised and considered inferior".[1] It said that the school promoted a "wholesale repudiation of mainstream society"; and that the headmaster, deputy headmaster, and religious studies teacher were among the speakers secretly recorded "denigrating or belittling members of other religions" and promoting the view that Muslims must remain separate from mainstream society.[1]
The DfE strongly backed the editing of the Dispatches programme. It said: "There was no other teaching that DfE saw that presented other religions, cultures or cultural traditions in a positive light. There was no evidence in the footage that was viewed to support the school's contention that its teachings were likely to prepare students to integrate, interact with and contribute beneficially to wider society.[1]
The school has written back to the DfE with an action plan, promising "a significant transformation of the school structure". The school said the headmaster had been replaced by an acting head, and all teachers identified in the film as making "inappropriate comments" had been dismissed. One was imprisoned.[1] The governing body had also been disbanded and all members of its Senior Management Team had been dismissed. It said it was taking a number of other steps to combat extremism and improve community cohesion. The DfE has accepted the action plan, but warned that the school may still be struck off the register for independent schools if it did not adhere to regulatory standards.[1]
2015
In 2015 the school was subject to a critical Ofsted report, this time after further expressions of concern which led to an unannounced inspection.[8] It was found that a female governor sat in a different room to male governors when conducting a governance meeting. The school responded saying it was the female governor's choice to sit apart, and that segregation was not routinely practiced at the school.[9] Ofsted also reported that the school's "policy states that the biggest timetable weighting has been given to English and mathematics, but inspection evidence and school timetables show that pupils study Arabic for approximately half of the school day."[8]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Dispatches Mosque teacher jailed - Channel 4 - Info - Press". Channel 4. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
- ^ {{cite web|url=http://www.darululoom.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/103586__8.pdf |title=Ofsted report 2017 |publisher=Ofsted
- ^ "Islamic High School & College". Darul Uloom. Archived from the original on 2011-08-24. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20110824071315/http://www.darululoom.org.uk/
- ^ "John Hemming's Web Log: Further Comments on Darul Uloom and Channel 4". Johnhemming.blogspot.com. 2011-02-15. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
- ^ "'Muslim Eton' at centre of Channel 4 hate-preaching allegations is forced to shut over far-Right safety fears". Daily Mail. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
cartledge-20151124was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Bissett, Gaby (17 June 2016). "Muslim faith school says Ofsted inspectors are racist after reports slams them over leaflets branding music and dancing 'acts of the devil'". Daily Mail.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-34921582
External links
- Darul Uloom at the Wayback Machine (archived 24 August 2011)